Sloe gin tips please!

Bykerlass

When you come to decanting the sloe gin and removing the alcohol soaked sloes, try making flapjacks incorporating the chopped up sloes. It is a bit of a faff destoning them but this is my OH job as he eats most of the flapjacks.

thorsoak

PasturesNew wrote: »

Never had it, it's a middle-class aspirational activity, for smug people

What an unpleasant post :-(

purpleybat

LameWolf wrote: »

A wee tip re pricking them - most books say puncture them several times with a darning needle; I use a staple extractor, which puts 4 holes in the sloe in one hit, so you only need to do each one once - saves a lot of time and frustration!

when i've made damson gin I've frozen then defrosted the berries, this causes the skins to split so therefore don't need pricking.
i'm essentially quite lazy.

--Tony--

Floss wrote: »

I foraged a kilo of sloes on Friday, which are in the freezer. We're current drinking 2009 & 2010 batches, with some 2011 damson gin as well. Th longer it can be left, the better it gets.

Are they ready this early? I though they would need until mid October before ripe and ready.

Beejay2

Hello....had a few brews going for few weeks....however, mine has white particles in its mixture...is this normal and is it safe to use? Thanks in hope!!!

-taff

Is it undissolved suagr?

Beejay2

Hi...I don't think so as that seemed to dissolve reasonably quickly in the adding of it when I first made it. Thank you for reply...am a newbie on here!

PipneyJane

Beejay2 wrote: »

Hello....had a few brews going for few weeks....however, mine has white particles in its mixture...is this normal and is it safe to use? Thanks in hope!!!

Please share your technique/recipe for making the sloe gin. I can’t think what it would be other than sugar.

Thanks

Pip. (FYI I use the recipe from sloe.biz. Their forum may have an answer for you)

Beejay2

Hi...I had some well ripened sloes that had been in freezer, placed in clean gin bottle with some caster sugar, then topped up with gin to top shook daily for a week then stored in cool dark cupboard and have been shaking once a week approx...
I'll have a look at that site tho, thank you! :j

Hard_Up_Hester

Woohoo, I've made it, I'm middle-class and smug, I make sloe gin and blackberry vodka every year.
Thorsoak, yes it was an unpleasant post and totally unnecessary.
Obviously PN can't find any sloes where she lives.